Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500

Complete details of Thunderbird 500 Motorcycle

Launched in India in October 2012.

Of course, a beast at the first glance. The unstoppable and unmatched highway cruiser that typically stands out the legacy and tradition of RE is all about the all new stunning Thunderbird 500. Enjoying its monarchism of being alone in the competition, Royal Enfield products are always intended to be crowd-pullers.

Has the Thunderbird 500 gone premium? May be and perhaps, it might be an ultra-premium stuff for Indian riders who currently enjoy no essential features on their Bullets.

1. New headlight with a 55w projector lamp for the low beam and a 55W halogen bulb for the high beam.
2. Digital meter.
3. Lock-mechanism for seats.
4. New design
5. LED Tail lamp with position light guides
6. Indicators - Hazard Light featured for the first time on an Indian motorcycle

First Impression Review

The Royal Enfiled Thunderbird 500 is an adventure cum cruiser motorcycle. It sports a big fuel tank, raised handlebars, upright riding posture, comfortable and cosy seats and a very beautiful and informative digital instrument cluster. The Thunderbird 500 comes with a very ridge and beefy sewing arm and rear disc brakes to make it one of the stable release from the Royal Enfield. The parts of the Thunderbird 500 is the same of its younger sibling, but unlike the Thunderbird 350, the power to weight ratio of the Thunderbird 500 is up to the mark and deliver enough power delivery and torque to make highway cruising a very memorable experience.

At the heart of the Thunderbird 500 is a 499cc Single Cylinder, 4 strokes, Spark ignition, Aircooled, Fuel injection. The big 499cc engine produces a maximum power of 27.2 bhp @ 5250 rpm and a maximum torque of 41.3 Nm @ 4000 rpm. The power output on the bike is designed to make highway cruising a very comfortable affair.

The frame of the Thunderbird 500 is the same Single downtube frame that uses the engine as a stressed member, as seen on the Thunderbird 350. The suspension duties of the bike are done with Telescopic, 41mm forks with 130mm travel on the front while the rear suspension duties are done with Twin gas charged shock absorbers with 5-step adjustable preload, 80mm travel. The suspension setup of the bike is pretty decent and is tuned to make highway cruising easier, this motorcycle can also do some little off-road also.

The braking system of the bike is a 280mm Disc, 2-Piston calliper at the front while the rear braking system makes use of 240mm Disc, Single piston calliper. the braking of the Thunderbird 500 is pretty decent but not really satisfactory when on wet roads and heavy traffic. One should learn to tame this heavyweight motorcycle at first to enjoy the greatness of this motorcycle.

Final Words

The Thunderbird 500 like any other Royal Enfileds attracts good maintenance, but the experience it gives to the rider on roads is unmatched. The Thunderbird 500 is a very value for money motorcycle one could use for a long journey and also for short commutes alike.

Test drive reports, reviews and news

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